The following invention relates generally to the reduction of shrinkage for businesses. More particularly, the instant invention monitors for articles that could be obscured from the view of employees. In particular, the instant invention seeks to detect whether or not articles have been placed within an area that could avoid detection by employees during their normal course of routines associated with their duties. More specifically, the instant invention monitors a surface or surfaces of a cart used to transport articles. More specifically, the instant invention detects whether or not articles have been placed proximate a shelf. Once the instant invention detects the presence of an article or articles, the instant invention notifies the appropriate employees of the business.
The present invention employs infrared emitters and detectors, mounted to the bottom shelf of a shopping cart basket and directed toward one another, in order to detect articles placed on said bottom shelf and enabling the unit to transmit a signal to a receiver mounted at the checkout stand, which will trigger an alarm in order to signify the presence of such articles to a clerk utilizing said checkout stand.
Grocery stores, supermarkets, and other retail establishments commonly supply consumers with shopping carts in order to provide them with a means to collect all articles of merchandise the consumer wishes to purchase. Typically, the shopping cart is wheeled to the checkout stand and the items are unloaded either by the consumer, in the case of self service establishments, or by the clerk in full service establishments. This process allows inputting of the price of the merchandise into a point of sale system and to transfer said merchandise into paper or plastic disposable bags that are then taken from the store by the consumer.
It is often the case that shopping carts are designed in a manner which provides a primary basket as well as a lower shelf that is below the primary basket and just above the wheels of said cart. The lower shelf is frequently used for transporting bulky items such as of beverages, pet foods, expensive and dense quantities of meats and produce. Because said lower shelf is typically six (6) inches to one (1) foot from the ground, clerks employed by the retail establishment, either inadvertently or purposefully, often fail to remove articles of merchandise from said bottom shelf, thus precluding the entry of prices into the point of sale system, thereby increasing the shrinkage cost of the grocery or retail establishment.
Because of such loss, inventors created several inventions designed to prevent the aforementioned occurrence and to provide retailers with one solution to the growing problem of shrinkage in its various forms.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant""s acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
Non Patent Literature
Store-Scan, Inc., With Store-Scan""s C.O.S.T. System You Can Always Be Sure It Will Be Profit, Feb. 1, 1999, entire brochure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,584 to Schrade discloses a system of employing optical devices at equal levels on both sides of the alleyway of the checkout stand. When the beam emitted from one device to the other is broken by an object of any kind, a signal is sent to the clerk via a receiver wired into the checkout stand that alerts them to the fact that articles are present upon the bottom shelf of the shopping cart. Whereas the present invention requires a simple and non destructive method of installation and implementation, the Schrade invention is cumbersome because it requires the modification and reconstruction of existing checkout stands. In contrast, the present invention simply requires the mounting of sensor units onto the bottom of the primary larger basket, and the wiring of the checkout stand receiver in order to access a power source and to provide proper placement of the checkout stand LED indicator.
Furthermore, the Schrade invention claims it is intended to operate within a retail environment in which the consumer is responsible for placing the articles of merchandise onto the sales counter. In contrast, the present invention is adaptable to all retail environments that utilize shopping carts because the unit is attached to the cart itself, thereby allowing convenient and cost effective conformity of the system to each retail environment based upon varying dimensions of checkout stands and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,102 to Fine employs a system similar to the Schrade invention, but does allow for the implementation of said system in a retail environment that employs full service checkout stands in which store employees remove merchandise from the carts and place them onto the counter for processing. However, the Fine invention must be adapted to a pre-existing point of sale (POS) system in order to operate. The signal indicating the presence of articles on the bottom rack of the cart is sent to the cash register itself which then communicates a message to the sales clerk and/or disallows them from further proceeding with the transaction without the entry of the said articles of merchandise into the POS system. The present invention requires no interfacing with existing POS system, nor does it require the creation of new POS systems in order for the device to effectively communicate to the sales clerk the as to the presence of merchandise on the bottom shelf of the shopping cart.
Furthermore, the Fine invention is unable to discern from articles placed on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart and objects such as humans positioned in the alleyway, and shopping carts that are not perfectly aligned with the predetermined point required to trigger the optical transmitter system, thus subjecting the unit to false readings. In time, the false readings will have the effect of conditioning the clerks employed by the retail establishments to ignore such false readings, thereby resulting in the clerks ignoring of true positive readings and the clerks will develop the habit of simply entering the override code and proceeding further without accounting for merchandise placed on the bottom shelf of the cart. This even further exacerbates the shrinkage problem already experienced by retailers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,006 to Allen, et al., also requires physical implementation into the checkout stand and relies upon the movement and subsequent stoppage thereof, by the cart itself before a signal is transmitted by the unit attached to the cart and received by the unit mounted at the checkout stand. Because said tasks are performed in such order by the present invention, there is no need for the shopping cart to be positioned exactly in a predetermined space in order to operate effectively.
Another attempted solution to the problem of bottom shelf merchandise shrinkage was that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,098 to Rehrig. In said invention, a conventional shopping cart must be adapted by including a pair of biasing springs and a reflector on the bottom tray, such that a checkout aisle photoelectric assembly is triggered by passage of a cart through the checkout stand aisle the photoelectric assembly is triggered by passage of a cart through the checkout stand aisle only when a load is on the bottom tray. This solution is ineffective in detecting the presence of any articles of insufficient weight, whereas the present invention would be able to detect an article with lower density, such as a newspaper or magazine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,118, to Hooley, the shopping cart tray is pivotably movable between loaded and unloaded positions to displace a permanent magnet mounted to the cart, the magnetic field of which interacts with a control circuit in the checkout stand. This system causes consumer inconvenience by requiring them to reposition the bottom tray of the cart before the tray is available to a consumer. The present invention will not inconvenience the consumer whatsoever, and in most instances the consumer will most likely be unaware of the presence of such a detection system.
One system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,819 to Coutta involves the use of a specially designed plastic tray which replaces the bottom tray of the conventional shopping cart. In the Coutta system, the shopping cart is modified so that the existing bottom tray must be removed completely or overlaid with the specially designed plastic tray. The present invention overcomes this costly and time consuming retrofitting with a simple and easily mounted unit.
The other prior art listed above but not specifically described herein further catalog the prior art of which the applicant is aware. These references diverge even more starkly from the references specifically distinguished above.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing an effective and unintrusive method of detecting the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart using a cart mounted detection system that communicates such fact to the sales clerk.
This objective is achieved through a novel and non-obvious shopping cart merchandise detector, comprising in combination a basket, a frame supporting the basket that includes a chassis underlying the basket from which wheels depend. Juxtaposed to the chassis is a sensing means having a driving means at a first extremity of the chassis and receiving means at a second extremity of the chassis. The sensing means operatively coupled to detect merchandise on the chassis. Further included is a communication link between the sensing means and a checkout stand having means to signal a cashier of the merchandise on the chassis.
This objective is also achieved through a method of sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area with the steps of: orienting sensors to scan the payload area; scanning with the sensors the payload area to determine the presence of merchandise of the chassis; and communicating to a cashier the presence of merchandise.
This objective is also achieved through a method for sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area with the minimization of power consumption, the steps including: initially residing in a quiescent state; mobilizing to a non-quiescent state when stimulated by an emission from a checkout stand; establishing a rule set for package surveillance based on the probability of discovery; embarking on a first most probable scan strategy calculated to reflect the most likely area for the package; reporting the existence to the checkout stand; and if not found, initializing a search in less probable areas.
This objective is also achieved through a method for reducing pilferage in a commercial establishment, the steps including: scanning with sensors a payload area for merchandise; and communicating to the commercial establishment the presence of merchandise.
This objective is also achieved through a land vehicle for carrying at least one article and for informing of a presence the at least one article comprising: a surface for the placement of at least one article thereon; and a means for detecting the presence of at least one article placed on the surface.
This objective is also achieved through an energy efficient method for sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area, steps including: initially residing in a quiescent state; mobilizing to a non-quiescent state when stimulated by an emission from a checkout stand; establishing a rule set for package surveillance based on the probability of discovery; embarking on a first most probable scan strategy calculated to reflect the most likely area for the package; reporting the existence to the checkout stand; and if not found, initializing a search in less probable areas.
Viewed from a first vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area with the steps of: orienting sensors to scan the payload area; scanning with the sensors the payload area to determine the presence of merchandise of the chassis; and communicating to a cashier the presence of merchandise.
Viewed from a second vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area with the minimization of power consumption, steps including: initially residing in a quiescent state; mobilizing to a non-quiescent state when stimulated by an emission from a checkout stand; establishing a rule set for package surveillance based on the probability of discovery; embarking on a first most probable scan strategy calculated to reflect the most likely area for the package; reporting the existence to the checkout stand; and if not found, initializing a search in less probable areas.
Viewed from a third vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reducing pilferage in a commercial establishment, the steps including: scanning with sensors a payload area for merchandise; and communicating to the commercial establishment the presence of merchandise.
Viewed from a fourth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a land vehicle for carrying at least one article and for informing of a presence the at least one article comprising: a surface for the placement of at least one article thereon; and a means for detecting the presence of at least one article placed on the surface.
Viewed from a fifth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide an energy efficient method for sensing merchandise on a shopping cart""s payload area, steps including: initially residing in a quiescent state; mobilizing to a non-quiescent state when stimulated by an emission from a checkout stand; establishing a rule set for package surveillance based on the probability of discovery; embarking on a first most probable scan strategy calculated to reflect the most likely area for the package; reporting the existence to the checkout stand; and if not found, initializing a search in less probable areas.
Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of the detection and alarm system described supra, several other objects and advantages of the present invention are as follows:
(a) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that provides no inconvenience to the consumer in said retail environment;
(b) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that provides no inconvenience to the sales clerk;
(c) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that will not be prone to false readings caused by humans or other objects;
(d) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that will detect smaller items that were previously undetectable by existing systems;
(e) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that will be cost effective in that it requires no reconstructing of existing checkout stands used in the retail environment;
(f) to provide a device that will alert the sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that will be not interfere with operation of the cart;
(g) to provide a device that will alert a sales clerk in a retail environment of the presence of articles of merchandise on the bottom shelf of a shopping cart that will attach to pre-existing carts and will not require design and creation of specially designed carts or bottom shelves of said pre-existing carts.
Furthermore, the detection and alarm system has additional advantages in that:
it attaches directly to pre-existing shopping carts in a manner which is not labor intensive; it attaches to the shopping cart in a manner which does not interfere with the normal operation of the cart by the consumer, the retailer, or by a clerk nesting said cart with other carts;
it does not require the reconstructing of existing checkout stands;
it employs infrared technology having a wide field of vision, thus allowing for the detection of products of varying size and weight;
it attaches directly to the cart itself, which will minimize the instances of false readings as the area in which it is monitoring is typically not an area available to human movement or objects other than merchandise;
it is energy efficient in its operation;
it is durable in its design and shall provide a lasting solution to retailers in minimizing retail shrinkage.
These and other objects will be made manifest when considering the following detailed specification when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.